A Look Back at 2008

At the beginning of the season, every NFL analyst on ESPN or the NFL Network takes a stab at predicting the exact records of all the teams in the league. It is a really hard thing to do. Since I started the blog this year, I figured I would give it a shot. One of the intriguing aspects of the making preseason predictions is the fact that the NFL is such an up and down league. Teams come out of nowhere and teams fall from grace in the matter of one season. My predictions column will be a continuing tradition here at the Bronco Blog. Let's take a look back at my 2008 NFL predictions, and I will throw in some commentary on my picks......

My 2008 AFC Predictions:

AFC EAST
1- New England (12-4)- This was a good pick, however, the Pats didn't win the division and makes the playoffs. Nobody could foresee Brady's injury (Finished 11-5).
2- New York Jets (10-6)-I had the Jets dead on this year. They didn't make the playoffs like I predicited, but they were in the hunt until their collapse (Finished 9-7).
3-Buffalo (5-11)-The Bills ended the season the way I thought they would play all year and out of the playoffs again (Finished 7-9).
4- Miami (4-12)-I was dead wrong on the Fish. Everyone in America who follows football was wrong on them. I thought 4 wins was justified but they shocked everyone (Finished 11-5).

AFC NORTH
1-Cincinnatti (10-6)-This garners my "Worst Pick of 2008." I thought that Cincy would be a sleeper with that offense. Obviously, Carson Palmer's shoulder injury hurt this pick, but this was a terrible pick for me (Finished 4-11-1).
2-Pittsburgh (9-7)-I thought the Steelers would struggle because they had the hardest schedule in the league going into the season. I knew I should have picked them to win the division or at least make the playoffs (Finished 12-4).
3- Cleveland (8-8) I nailed this pick. Everyone loved the Browns going into the 2008. I knew they were going to flop (Finished 4-12).
4- Baltimore (6-10)-I didn't think John Harbaugh would have that much influence on this team in his first year. Also, I didn't see Joe Flacco playing so steady as a rookie QB. Another 2008 shocker (Finished 11-5).

AFC SOUTH
1-Indianapolis (11-5)-I pretty much hit this one. After a slow start, Indy picked it up and made the playoffs as a wild card (Finished 12-4).
2-Jacksonville (9-7) I was right that they wouldn't make the playoffs. Many experts had them in the Super Bowl. I was wrong that they would fall so far (Finished 5-11).
3-Houston (8-8) I nailed this one perfectly (Finished 8-8).
4- Tennessee (6-10) I was totally wrong on this one. Tennessee got off to a good start and won the division title-with Kerry Collins at QB (Finished 13-3).

AFC WEST
1-San Diego (12-4)-I was correct that San Diego would win the division, but I was wrong about how well they would play all year (Finished 8-8).
2-Denver (10-6)-I don't think I am ever going to pick Denver to make the playoffs again in my predictions for a season. This one was looking good when Denver was 8-5 and needed only to win 1 out of their last 3 games to make playoffs (Finished 8-8).
3-Oakland (6-10)-I hit this pick pretty well (Finished 5-11).
4- Kansas City (3-13) I nailed this pick as well (Finished 2-14).

AFC Playoffs:
1- San Diego
2- New England
3-Indy
4- Cincy
5- New York Jets
6- Denver
AFC TITLE GAME: San Diego over Indy

ACTUAL AFC PLAYOFFS:
1-Tennessee
2-Pittsburgh
3-Miami
4-San Diego
5-Indy
6-Baltimore
AFC TITLE GAME: Pittsburgh over Baltimore

*I correctly predicted 1 out of 4 division winners (San Diego)
*I had 2 out of 6 AFC playoff teams correct (SD and Indy)


Tomorrow The NFC Recap